X100 & Shadows

Hey X100 lovers, 


I have noticed lately that I have been shooting a lot of subjects that either appear completely as shadows or have a strong, usually very contrasty, shadow element. This is of course a pretty conventional aspect of photography and far from original. What I have noticed though, and find interesting from a point of view of my own style, is that I am now actively looking for shadows everywhere. Just like when you are looking for a new car, camera or whatever, you start to notice them everywhere because its at the forefront your mind.

So how does this relate to photography and the X100 in particular? Well, there are a few observations that I wanted to make if anyone is interested in this as a simple project or subject they might want to explore.


First up, I have found that the more I use the X100 the more I have become completely at home with the focal length and camera controls and set-up. I remember reading a very nice piece by Thorsten Overgaard on the Leica Digilux 2 where it became very clear that much of his affinity with the camera was down to how comfortable he had become with its simple controls, focal lengths and operation, to the extent that the camera was 'out of the way' and he had industrialized his photograph taking workflow to such an extent that the subject or topic gets explored without conscious thought for the camera. I am not sure that I have reached this ultimate state of enlightenment ( he has been using it for a very long time) but I would say that I have become entirely comfortable with how I use the X100 and this helps a lot when these kind of opportunities come along. I find that I look for shadows all of the time now and as soon as I see something interesting I slip the aperture to f8 (there is usually loads of light) compose and shoot. I have found that the X100 meter is extremely reliable for shadow shooting and only occasionally have I had to tweak the exposure comp dial.

Secondly, remember this style is all about contrast. Generally, the more contrasty and stark you can make the shadow then the more impact the shot will have. One thing that noticed on my recent trip to Chiang Mai is that a polarizer can help a lot with this kind of shooting and in particular where you have white walls. I wouldn't normally have bothered with this but I lost my X100 lens cap and wanted to protect the lens a bit while I wandered around so I slipped an ancient 49mm polarizer that I had onto the camera. As rule I wouldn't recommend this as I don't like anything that goes in front of a lens as its likely to degrade the image in some way through either dirt, flare or by simply slowing the lens as is the case with this polarizer. However, as there was loads of very bright light around this wasn't an issue in this case.

The third aspect of this style for me is the editing of the resulting images where its essential to bring out the contrast. Regular readers will know that I am on a Snapseed trip just now and I think it does a very nice job for this style. Some may think its over done, and I have to confess to being pretty conservative as a rule, but I like the exaggerated contrast and, as long as the photo structure is simple enough, the results can be very effective.

I find that the Snapseed drama tones do a very nice job of brining out grainy detail and this makes what could be bland subject matter that little bit more interesting and causes the eye and mind to linger a little longer on the shot.

It needn't all be black and white of course and sometimes a nice streak of color can liven the shot. Again, it might be worth trying a polarizer if you have enough light as it will definitely help with the contrast and tones.


I hope that this was interesting to you guys and here is a final image to close. I have used this before in the blog but make no apology for using it again, it has become my favorite shot from the Chiang Mai trip.

See you all soon,


Steel

X100 Goes to Chiang Mai (pt 2)

Hey X100 lovers, I am still updating from Chiang Mai and here are some of my latest shots and experiences with the X100. 


Before I do that, more bad news.....the X100 has gone from being fully pimped up to totally stripped down !!!!! I have now lost all of the accessories that I bought except the leather case (and I guess if loose that the camera is gone !!) Gone are the thumbs up, soft release red shutter button and the lens hood. These add-ons are simply not up to the stress of travel photography and I am shocked at how easily they were gone :( Lesson is; by all means buy them to make the camera look good for city cruising but don't put it to work..... I will replace the lens hood because I need that to protect the lens (I don't like filters) so the hood is essential and it also does a great job with flare.


Here is a fond memory of how it looked fully tarted up.

Enough of this, lets get back to Chiang Mai and the X100 shooting experience. Here is a shot I like a lot from the huge night market in the centre of the town. This guy pops through a window in his wooden stall where he sells silver jewelry and I managed to time the shot perfectly as he picked up a ring to show a customer. I spoke about this in a previous blog around waiting for the moment and not shooting indiscriminately. This is an important aspect of X100 shooting due to its relatively slow operation, however, in a strange way it also helps to improve your composition, framing and timing. I have heard this said about shooting film and imagine the experience to be similar. The discrete appearance and silent operation of the X100 all add to this of course.

For shooting at the market I found ISO auto with 1600 limit and min 1/60 to be perfect and I didn't loose a single shot to blur. The editing for this one was the dark drama toning in Snapseed which regular readers will know I have been using to edit on the fly when traveling and in my opinion it brings out the jewelry and wood grain in a very dramatic way.

No trip to Thailand or Chiang Mai would be complete without shooting the temples and monks. I found on this trip that the monks were a little camera shy and I put that down to the sheer volume of tourists that were there for the Loi Krathong festival. Still, with the unobtrusive X100 and its silent use, its possible to quietly blend in and not disturb people while you shoot. I keep raving about this aspect of the X100 but don't underestimate the value of not being noticed and I can speak from experience here. I know that the clatter of my D3 shutter would have made this monk look up and be uncomfortable.

On a different aspect of travel photography, I normally love shooting black & white but haven't been doing so much with the X100. I intend to correct that and will shoot a lot more with this in mind for a future blog on the subject. In the meantime here is one that I really like, this was shot with a cheapo polarizer which helped with the contrast. I can highy recommend the use of a polarizer on the X100, it's 49 mm thread is easy and cheap to source and light to carry. The effect on contrast is always welcome and, with the bright light from the golden and white buildings, helped to tame the reflections a bit. Normally the contrast of a monks orange robes would make a photo like this but I prefer the B&W. Here is a color version from the same scene taken shortly after - what do you guys think?

Both work for me but for different reasons :) This was a horrendous exposure but I preferred to preserve the monk detail this time around at the expense of some of the building detail.

Here is another instance where the polarizer made a huge difference and brought out the texture in these silver medallions which, incidentally, were hand made in the temple compound by the guy below.

You can see in the background the intricate frame that he made for the photo of Thailand's highly revered King and Queen.

Here is another example of the silver work shaped into leaves and hung like a tree, gorgeous stuff and perfectly metered by the X100.

Back to the monks again and a quick comment about the 35mm lens equivalent on the X100. This focal length is perfect for travel subject and context shooting, and its always a good idea to take the context shot first in case the subject moves. This is the same monk at the window from the 3rd photo in this post and I shot this as my initial subject and environment shot to make sure I had it in the bag. 

Here's another nice context example, I particularly like to shoot against the light and the clock and calendar in the corner were for me and important part of the story and rather nicely fill the frame.


Finally, I mentioned in part 1 about the great coffee from the Republic Coffee orange (had to be this color for Chiang Mai !!!) van, we became firm friends with the owner due to our frequent visits during the trip and here is a closing shot of it in action. 

Cheers until next time,


Steel

X100 Goes to Chiang Mai

Hey X100 lovers, I am up in Chiang Mai in Thailand on a photo trip with Singapore Trekkers and wanted to post some early experiences and shots. Firstly a bit of bad news and word to the wise. I was raving previously about the thumbs up hotshoe grip enhancer and soft release button attachments that I bought for the X100, well both are lost :( none of these expensive add ons fit securely for travel photography - you have been warned, don't waste your money.

Anyway, enough of this doom & gloom and back to the shooting. Chiang Mai is a cultural centre in Northern Thailand and is a bit of mixture of old and new, temples, shops and markets. All of this makes for very interesting subject matter and I will post a series from this location over the next few weeks or so.

Street shooting opportunities abound and I have found that there are a couple of ways of approaching these. One is to find an interesting backdrop and wait for the right subject (as in this case) or to find the right subject and wait until he, she or it is in the location you want.

Both of these shots fall into the former camp and I find that this is an approach that works well here due to the number of great locations that exist and, with a bit of patience, the right subject usually comes along. One thing that regular X100 shooters will be aware of is that its no speed shooter so, as with film cameras, you have to take the shot at the decisive moment and sometimes this requires very good timing. It all boils down to a sense of anticipation at the end of the day, waiting until the composition looks exactly as you want it - and then, and only then, taking the shot.

Another thing that I noticed is that some of the temples get lit quite nicely and if you catch them at dusk it's possible to get a very nice ambient background light and loads of contrast. Incidentally, I never use a tripod with the X100 and these are shot hand held on auto ISO which I currently have set for 1600 max and a min shutter speed of 1/40 th which is plenty of headroom for steady shooting due to the very soft release and lack of mirror slap.

As with many places in Thailand, temples are everywhere and they are all very interesting and social centres in their own right. There is usually open access and as long as decent manners are observed, no problem with shooting in them.

As I said, this is just a quick starter on this trip and I will update as the week progresses. Just to finish, here is a snap of this lovely guy who has a little converted van from which he sells the best coffee around. It's called Republic Coffee, keep an eye open for him if you go here, you wont be disappointed with the delicious lattes :) Its very obvious that this guy loves his work and it shows through in the quality of his coffee and the lovely ambiance around his van.

Well, that's it for a kick-off from Thaialnd, keep viewing and I will update in a few days.

Cheers,

Steel